“Walk your own path and be yourself”
The sun is here again. It will be a partly cloudy day. It will also be a cold day. It is my cleaning day. The dust is taking over. Every surface is covered. My sensibilities can’t take it anymore.
When I was in the eighth grade, President Kennedy signed the Peace Corps bill. “The toughest job you’ll ever love,” was part of all the TV public service announcements. I knew right then I’d go into into the Peace Corps. Eight years later I did.
My house in Ghana was on school grounds and was one side of a duplex. It was a brand new house. A living room, two bedrooms and an eating area were the inside rooms. Flanked around the concrete yard in the back were the kitchen with the stove and a shelf unit for storage, a shower, cold water only, a toilet, aka a nesting spot for the chickens, and an extra room where Thomas, my Ghanaian factotum, lived. The house was furnished, and I had a fridge, inside. I seldom used the stove, no gas. The house was by the back gate and across from the school garden. It was the last in a line of staff housing stretching from the front gate to the back gate. The school had a night watchman, but he slept a lot. When the gate was closed at night, I had to climb over. Scaling a fence in a dress and sandals is never easy.
I learned amazing things in Ghana. I could easily choose the good eggs over the bad. I learned to pluck a chicken. In the market, I bargained. Mammy lorries were the cheapest way to travel but not very far because the seats were like wooden stadium seats, and you had to climb up then shift your leg over the side to sit on them. I got adept at lorry climbing. I learned to eat t-zed, a blob made from millet, and soup, with my right hand without dripping and making a mess. When I went back to Ghana after so many years, my first meal was fufu, a Southern Ghanaian dish, and soup. I ate with my hand. I did not make a mess.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
February 5, 2024 at 9:23 pm
Hi Kat,
Today was sunny with a high of 63°. This weather is like, “Indian summer”, in February. 🙂 I’m sure that winter is not done with us yet.
When I was seven, my father bought us tickets to fly to New York City. We flew on a WWII surplus DC-4. In those days there was no security and they let the passenger tour the flight deck. I knew when I entered the cockpit that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The captain let me sit on his lap and he put his headphones on my head and I listened to the radio chatter.
When I went off to college I began taking flying lessons in a Piper J-3 Cub. This was the most basic of airplanes. It had two seats, and the student had fly from the rear seat. This was because you couldn’t fly solo from the front seat due to balance issues. It had no electrical system nor radios. My instructor had to hand prop the engine to start. Hartlee Field had a single sod runway 2,500 ft. in length and the airplane itself only had five instruments including a wet compass. Except for an airspeed indicator and an altimeter the other three instruments were the engine gauges. It was truly flying by the seat of your pants.
After three more years of saving money I earned my private pilot certificate. That was in 1968. I got lucky that year and entered the first draft lottery. My birthday came up #346. A very good place to be in those days of the draft during the Vietnam war.
I have decided that in life I would rather be lucky than smart. I earned both a commercial pilot certificate and a flight instructor certificate by 1974. Then, I got lucky and was hired by a local flight school. I worked my way up the ladder earning a multi engine rating, an Instument rating, and an Airline Pilot Certificate. Eventually, I convinced my boss to give me a jet type rating in a Cessna Citation corporate jet. I couldn’t believe that I was actually flying a jet airplane. The next day I was giving instruction in that same jet. I think my first students learned in spite of me not because of me. 🙂
I would tell anyone, if you have a dream it can come true if you work hard and have a little bit of luck. This year is my 50th anniversary of earning my flight instructor certificate. I figured out early on that flying trips is not that interesting or rewarding but teaching flying was much more interesting.
February 5, 2024 at 10:58 pm
Hi Bob,
We’ll be in the 30’s for the next few days. We may get rain or a dusting of snow tonight. Of course, we will. I just washed the kitchen floor.
I remember walkin from my grandparents’ house in East Boston to Logan Airport. It was a long walk, but I didn’t care. In those days you could go on the roof to watch the planes. I loved watching them land and take off. That was when I knew I would ride a plane and see the world. You and I sort of started at the same place, a plane and airport, but chose different paths.
I was going to go to law school but after teaching in Ghana, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I have never regretted that choice.
I would agree about what to tell people. I used to tell my kids that all the time about their dreams.
February 5, 2024 at 11:34 pm
Unfortunately, airport security has forced those observation decks to close. When they built DFW airport they left some land on the northwest side of the runways for observing arriving and departing airplanes. It’s called founder’s plaza. It has a lot of parking, picnic tables, and loudspeakers that broadcast live control tower radio instructions.
https://www.dfwairport.com/explore/plan/foundersplaza/#
February 6, 2024 at 12:48 am
What is neat that you can picnic and watch the planes.
Logan in those days was composed of flat buildings. The terminals were single stories with the buildings side by side. The roof was a perfect spot to watch.